Olympic National Park Backpacking Locations

The Olympic National Park is incredibly diverse – including rugged coastline, lush rainforests, subalpine meadows and lakes, as well as high peaks. These backpacking trips showcase some of the best scenery that each ecosystem has to offer.

Difficulty Ratings

The difficulty ratings listed here are based on hiking in to a campsite and does not include additional hike destinations on the trip.

• Easy: Hike in up to 6 miles, and up to 1,000 ft. gain to camp area
• Moderate: Hike in up to 8 miles with 1,000-2,000 ft. gain to camp area
• Strenuous: Hike in up to 10 miles with 2,000-3,000 ft. gain to camp area
• Very Strenuous: Hike in up to 12 miles with 3,000-4,000 ft. gain to camp area

High Divide & Seven Lakes Basin

The highly scenic High Divide loop in the Olympic Mountains is extremely popular for a good reason – it showcases everything from a lush rainforest to subalpine lakes, and panoramic views of the highest peaks in the Olympics. Advance permits are required for all backcountry campsites.

• distance & elevation gain to campsite in Seven Lakes Basin: 9.2 miles, 3,070 ft. gain (for a shorter hike in, there are many campsites on this loop)
• difficulty: strenuous
• day hike options: Seven Lakes Basin, Hoh Lake, Bogachiel Peak
• best months: August to September
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: High Divide backpacking trip

Marmot Pass via Big Quilcene River Trail

On this four day backpacking trip, we hiked in to Camp Mystery to setup a basecamp and hiked each day to Marmot Pass and explored the area. The views from the pass are incredible, with most of the peaks in the Olympics filling the horizon.

• distance & elevation gain to campsite: 4.6 miles, 2,900 ft. gain
• difficulty: strenuous
• day hike options: Marmot Pass, Boulder Ridge, Buckhorn Mountain
• best months: July – September
• permits: self-issued at wilderness checkpoint
• more info: Marmot Pass via Big Quilcene River Trail

North Fork Skokomish River Trail

Located in the Olympic National Park, the North Fork Skokomish River Trail is a great low elevation trip for the spring and early summer when water levels are running high in the cascading river and the lush forest is filled with many shades of green.

• I Heart PNW trip report: North Fork Skokomish River backpacking trip
• distance & elevation gain to campsite: 5.5 miles, 1,080 ft. gain
• difficulty: easy to moderate
• day hike options: continue on the North Fork Skokomish Trail; Flapjack Lakes
• best months: May – September
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park

Olympic Coast – Ozette Triangle

Washington’s Olympic Coast is truly wild, with access limited to hikers and backpackers for long stretches of coast line. This trip to South Sand Point includes a day hike to see ancient native petroglyphs at Wedding Rocks.

• distance & elevation gain to South Sand Point Camp: 4.5 miles, 175 ft. gain
• difficulty: easy
• day hike options: Wedding Rocks petroglyphs
• best months: spring (for better water access for filtering)
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: South Sand Point backpacking trip

Hoh River Rainforest

The Hoh Rainforest is one of the wettest places in the United States. The rainforest here is lush with mosses and lichens and plenty of water – and the trail is fairly flat and next to the river with several designated camp areas along the way.

• distance & elevation gain to Five Mile Island Camp: 5.1 miles, 400 ft. gain
• difficulty: easy
• day hike options: continue on the Hoh River Trail to the Olympus Guard Station
• best months: May to June
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Hoh River Trail backpacking trip

Olympic Coast – Rialto Beach to Chilean Memorial

Washington’s Olympic Coast is a wild coast – with extremely limited access to vast sections of it. About 70 miles of this incredibly scenic coastline is part of the Olympic National Park and accessible to hardy backpackers willing to time their trek at low tide to round headlands, or to use ropes to climb steep slopes to reach overland trails.

• distance & elevation gain to Chilean Memorial Camp: 4 miles, 200 ft. gain
• difficulty: moderate (due to terrain and tides)
• best months: May to July
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Rialto Beach to Chilean Memorial backpacking trip

Quinault River & the Enchanted Valley

Beginning at the Graves Creek trailhead, the Quinault River Trail follows the river through dense Olympic rainforest. Setup camp at one of the many backcountry sites and day hike to the Enchanted Valley.

• distance & elevation gain to Pyrites Creek Camp: 11 miles, 2,125 ft. gain (for a shorter hike in, spend the first night at Pony Bridge or Fire Creek Camp)
• difficulty: moderate
• day hike option: continue on the Quinault River Trail to Enchanted Valley
• best months: May to June
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Enchanted Valley backpacking trip

Royal Lake & Royal Basin

Royal Lake provides access to some of the best subalpine and alpine scenery in the Olympic Mountains. From Royal Lake, it’s a short hike to explore the stunning alpine scenery of Upper Royal Basin.

• distance & elevation gain to Royal Lake Camp: 6.5 miles, 2,800 ft. gain (for a shorter hike in, spend the first night at Royal Creek Camp)
• difficulty: strenuous
• day hike options: Upper Royal Basin
• best months: mid-July to September
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Royal Basin backpacking trip

Olympic Peninsula: Dosewallips River Trail

The Dosewallips River Trail provides access to trails in the Olympic National Park via an old road bed. A former campground at the end of the closed road makes a great backpacking location, with many campsites next to the river.

• distance & elevation gain to campsite: 6.5 miles, 1,200 ft. gain
• difficulty: moderate
• day hike options: continue on the Dosewallips River Trail
• best months: April – June
• permits: self-issued at wilderness checkpoint for Dosewallips Camp; beyond here, required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Dosewallips River Trail backpacking trip

Shi Shi Beach

Camping at Shi Shi Beach on the northern Washington Coast is an unmatched experience – with incredible sea stacks, sunsets, sea caves and plenty of beach to explore. The hike in is also one of the muddiest as it works its way through dense coastal forest.

• distance & elevation gain to campsite: 5 miles, 400 ft. gain
• difficulty: easy
• best months: May to July
• permits: required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Shi Shi Beach backpacking trip

Duckabush River Trail

The Duckabush River Trail is located on the Hood Canal side of the Olympic Peninsula and makes for a great early season backpacking trip with multiple camp areas in low elevation forest next to the scenic river.

• distance & elevation gain to campsite: 2-5 miles, 400-1,750 ft. gain
• difficulty: easy to moderate
• best months: April to June, depending on snow levels
• permits: self-issued at wilderness checkpoint up to 5 Mile Camp, beyond here required in advance from Olympic National Park
• more info: Duckabush River backpacking trip